As Israel faces ongoing political and social instability, its new
cardinal has said that since achieving stable peace in the near future
is unlikely, constructive efforts in facilitating dialogue are needed.
Speaking to journalists during a Sept. 28 press briefing,
Cardinal-Designate Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of
Jerusalem, said his appointment was a surprise, and that he sees the red
hat as “a responsibility.”
“To be a cardinal is not just a title, but also a responsibility, to
be a voice from Jerusalem, of Jerusalem, about our situation, and also
from Jerusalem to all the churches, to be able to say something positive
for constructive building in this very complicated context,” he said,
referring to Israel’s socio-political crisis and the broader tensions of
the Holy Land.
Constructive efforts in bettering the current situation are difficult
“but not impossible,” he said, saying what can be done to improve the
status quo “depends on what your perspective is.”
“If you want to arrive to a solution of peace where everyone is
living peacefully and will love one another, of course we are not there,
and I don’t think we are going to see this [anytime] soon,” he said.
Yet at the same time, Pizzaballa insisted that “it’s possible to
create a context of peace, a context of encounter, of dialogue, in
society, in groups, in movements.”
“There are many people, Israelis and Palestinians, belonging to
different religions, Christians, Muslims and Jews, who are ready to
cooperate, to do something positive in society. This is what we have to
do right now,” he said.
Pizzaballa, who will get his red hat from Pope Francis Saturday, has
been in the Holy Land for 34 years, and is seen as one of the most
authoritative Church voices on regional affairs.
His appointment takes place amid a recent uptick in violence between
Israelis and Palestinians, as well as ongoing tensions over the
controversial judicial reform pioneered by the rightwing government of
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Violence in the West Bank has surged following Israel’s general
elections last November, bringing in the country’s most rightwing and
nationalistic coalition to date, composed of hardline parties many
observers accuse of being increasingly radical, worsening the violence.
For example, Netanyahu’s far-right coalition includes settler leaders
in key roles, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National
Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who in 2007 was criminally convicted
for incitement of anti-Arab racism and support for a Jewish militant
group.
Observers have argued that the presence of Ben-Gvir and other equally
radical coalition members has empowered Israeli settlers to tighten
Jewish control of the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Church leaders have spoken out against these actions, voicing concern
that such efforts are a threat to the Christian presence in Jerusalem,
while Palestinians have pushed back.
Christians themselves have been subjected to increased
discrimination, with Holy Land leaders, including Pizzaballa, issuing
repeated statements condemning acts of violence and discrimination, and
urging greater religious tolerance and respect for minorities.
Observers have also warned that democracy in Israel is at stake amid the debate over a controversial judicial overhaul.
In July the Israeli parliament passed a controversial law stripping
the Supreme Court of its power to declare government decisions
unreasonable, marking the first step in a massive judicial overhaul
which many fear will worsen the country’s crisis.
In his conversation with journalists, Pizzaballa said the Church’s
position on issues such as the current political upheaval “is that we
never say anything publicly about this, because it’s a crisis within the
Israeli Jewish society mostly.”
“We say what we have to say, which is, you cannot change basic laws
by majority, you need to have a vast majority. These laws should reflect
the desire and the will of all the country, which is not the case right
now,” he said.
Pizzaballa said he has met with Netanyahu several times, but not in
recent years, and that there is no direct contact with the government,
though the Church does have regular contact with certain state
ministries, such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of
Tourism, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Another issue Pizzaballa addressed is current debate over the
international status of Jerusalem, one of the most sensitive topics in
the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Jerusalem is claimed by both Israel and Palestine as their capital
city, while international law under the United Nations formally
recognizes Jerusalem as a Palestinian territory illegally occupied by
Israel, with most diplomatic partners housing Israeli embassies in Tel
Aviv.
However, in 2018 United States President Donald Trump made the
controversial decision to move the US embassy to Israel to Jerusalem,
prompting a wave of international backlash, including from Vatican
officials.
“First of all, I have to say that it’s the first time after many
years that the Holy See is talking about Jerusalem and the Status of
Jerusalem. It’s something we didn’t hear, not only from the Holy See,
but many other countries, for a long time,” Pizzaballa said.
Apart from the United States and a few other countries, there are no
embassies in Jerusalem, he said, “because embassies are in Tel Aviv and
also because from the international community, the status of Jerusalem
is still under discussion, (it) should still be under discussion.”
“How realistic it is, it depends how strong the international community wants to be,” he said.
Referring to difficulties in moving between Israel and Palestine,
which requires a special permit, Pizzaballa said the situation “hasn’t
changed.”
“From Palestine, from Bethlehem, to go to Jerusalem you need permits,
and permits are a nightmare, always. Our chancery is always working for
permits for the Christian community, and the situation is changing
continuously,” he said.
He said the Church has good line of communication with Israeli
military authorities, “but it’s also true that we are always, in a way,
in a limbo where you never know where you are.”
Pizzaballa also addressed the current situation in Gaza, a
Palestinian city on the Gaza Strip under Israeli control which has
traditionally been a hotbed of violence in the Israel-Palestine
conflict.
“Gaza is a prison, an open prison. Two million people packed inside
there with a very difficult economic and social perspective for the
future,” he said.
The Christian community in Gaza ironically complains the least,
because they are “very well united, maybe because of the situation,” he
said, and called the political and social situation of Gaza “something
shameful.”
